Hadashah
Hadashah is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Coastal Plain in modern-day Israel. Known today as between Lachish and Gath. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Hadashah was a city in the Shephelah, the lowland region between the coastal plain and the Judean hills, listed among the towns allotted to the tribe of Judah following the conquest of Canaan. It appears in Joshua 15:37 within a group of towns that included Zenan, Migdal-gad, and Lachish, placing it in the second district of Judah's lowland inheritance. The name Hadashah means "new" in Hebrew, suggesting either a newly founded settlement or one renamed during the period of Israelite occupation. Though Hadashah receives no further mention in Scripture, its inclusion in the territorial lists of Joshua reflects the careful divine ordering of tribal inheritance in the Promised Land, with each town representing a portion of God's fulfilled promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Shephelah context is significant — this region served as a buffer zone between Judah and Philistia, and towns like Hadashah would have been strategically important in periods of conflict between the two peoples.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Hadashah has not been definitively identified with a known archaeological site. The existing data places it between Lachish and Gath in the Shephelah lowlands of modern Israel. Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) has been extensively excavated and represents one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel, with evidence spanning the Early Bronze Age through the Persian period. The broader Shephelah region is rich in Iron Age remains, with numerous khirbets (ruin mounds) awaiting excavation. Surveys of the area between Lachish and Tell es-Safi (Gath) have identified several candidate sites for Hadashah, but none has yielded conclusive inscriptional or artifactual evidence to confirm the identification.
Verse Appearances (1)
Josh
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →